


Three Witches and a Werewolf

by Tinywriterfairy



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Angst with a Happy Ending, Communication, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Jeno is Unreliable About Honorifics, Lee Jeno is a Panicked Gay, M/M, Mentioned Yutae, Minor Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Qian Kun, Minor Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun, Minor Mark Lee/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas, Minor Xiao De Jun | Xiaojun / Liu Yangyang / Wong Kun Hang | Hendery, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Pining, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Wolves are Gossips, Xuxi as a nickname
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-07
Updated: 2019-12-07
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:15:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21585193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tinywriterfairy/pseuds/Tinywriterfairy
Summary: Jeno hasn't been a werewolf for very long, so when he imprints on his three best friends, he has no idea what that means or what to do. It's a good thing Yukhei and the pack are there to help. However, Renjun, Donghyuck, and Jaemin may have different ideas about that ...
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Huang Ren Jun/Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Na Jaemin
Comments: 10
Kudos: 258
Collections: ’00 FIC FEST: ROUND ONE





	Three Witches and a Werewolf

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt #006: "in which werewolf jeno imprints on three (3) of his closest friends...... who all happen to already be dating. little does he know that his three best friends have been pining over him forever, unfortunately with the idea that Jeno’s got a thing with his pack mate Yukhei"
> 
> I really hope you enjoy this! It's been a long ride, but we're here now. Thank you so much to my beta for helping me make this readable.

Jeno ran, all four legs bursting with energy. Red, brown, black, and white fur surrounded him as the pack dove deeper into their forest. The trees zipped by and every so often, someone would detour after a deer. Jeno considered trying, but Jisung and Yukhei bracketed him between them. The older wolves relaxed when they reached their base clearing. Anyone still holding onto a deer carcass dropped it at the base of a large tree nearby before scattering. Doyoung settled by the tree for a nap. Jaehyun seemed to feel playful; he nipped and teased Johnny until Johnny chased him. Yuta nosed around looking for some scent he found interesting. Joohyun and Seulgi wandered off on their own, trailing some of the other pack members. Taeil circled the clearing to keep an eye on them all.

Jisung nudged Jeno bodily, shoving him over until he stumbled into Yukhei. Yukhei steadied him and huffed at Jisung. Jisung sank into a play bow, tongue lolling out. Yukhei pounced, but Jisung dodged and ran. Mark watched them bicker, tail wagging gently. He huffed when he noticed Jeno waiting. Well, alright then. Jeno knocked into Mark, sandy fur brushing against red. He dashed after Yukhei with Mark on his heels. They frolicked until Taeil decided it was time to go home.

The pack house was the kind of house he would expect an old established family to live in, all dark wood and big windows. But it worked for them because the furniture was old and thick enough not to break when werewolves got a little too rough. Not everyone lived there, but Taeil had made sure to get a house with plenty of space so everyone could and did sleep over whenever they wanted. When they made it back, Jeno followed Yukhei back to the back yard where they had left their clothes. Yukhei nudged him toward their clothes as the other wolves shifted. He steeled himself to start the shift.

It hurt. Probably not as much as logic suggested, but it hurt to rearrange muscle and bone over organs, for those organs to adjust to fit back in a human abdomen. The sandy fur retracting back to skin just itched. Jeno shuddered as he came back to himself, lying on his side in the grass. He pulled out his clothes as Yukhei shifted next to him.

Yukhei made a majestic black-furred wolf, but even he couldn’t make the shift look pleasant. Jeno turned to the side. The others were pulling on their clothes. Yukehi stood tall after his much faster shift. Jeno passed over Yukhei’s clothes. Modesty was something he’d had to get over quickly, but it was cold today

Yukhei crouched beside him. “How was that? Not as bad, right?”

Jeno laughed. “Yes, this was better. It’s been three months, you don’t have to keep checking in with me. I knew what I was agreeing to when I joined the pack.”

“I do, though.” He pouted. “I changed you over. It’s my job to make sure you complete the change well.”

Jeno pushed himself upright. “I promise, I’ll tell you if I notice anything weird. I am almost done, though, right?”

Yukhei took the hand Jeno offered to pull himself up. He slung that arm over Jeno’s shoulder as they followed the others toward the door. “Almost. Your senses started really kicking in last month, right?”

“Yeah.” That had been fun; his nose had kicked in on the subway just in time to catch someone being sick. Jeno wrinkled his nose. “So it’s just the brain stuff, right?”

Joohyun snorted, holding open the door for them. “The brain stuff. I suppose that’s one way to describe your final integration into the pack and our magic.”

“But is he wrong?” Yukhei asked.

“Well, no.”

They trooped inside and through the kitchen. Yukhei got sidetracked and took Jeno with him, but when they emerged with snacks, Mark was leaning against the back of the giant couch chatting with Yuta. He turned when they arrived. Jeno missed what happened, but Yukhei must have done something because Mark stared at him. Yukhei seemed caught in the same moment, but all Jeno really wanted was to get out.

The others trickled around them. Some, like Joohyun and Seulgi, didn’t live at the pack house and made for the door after their goodbyes. Others, like Jaehyun, just ignored the odd moment and dropped onto the couch or headed upstairs. Jeno wiggled out of Yukhei’s hold.

“Are you going to the magic shop?” Mark snapped out of whatever was going on in his head when Jeno slipped away. “Donghyuck mentioned it earlier.”

Jeno rubbed his neck. It shouldn’t be that warm long after the cooldown period once he had shifted. “Yeah, they asked me to swing by.”

Mark caught up with him. “I’ll come with you.”

Yukhei still seemed distracted, but Taeil came by and they fell into conversation. Jeno got his coat, though he still felt a little warm for it. “For Donghyuck?”

“Nah, for his boyfriend.”

Jeno fidgeted with his coat pockets. “Which one?” They started for the door. Doyoung waved them out as he headed back toward the kitchen.

“Renjun has my wolfsbane.”

“Ah.” Jeno had always thought the name wolfsbane was an odd one for a werewolf’s cure-all potion, but who was he to question it.

The trip over was short; Vision’s building was old and the store was well-established, but it was still situated in one of the more modern parts of Seoul, not too far from the pack house. Jeno had wondered if that was on purpose, if Taeil had bought the pack house to be near Vision in case of emergencies. Neither he nor Mark owned cars, so they got on the subway for a couple stops. No one was ill this time, but it didn’t exactly make a pleasant ride. Jeno didn’t like being so close to people anymore, not anyone but his packmates and a few of the witches. Yuta had told him that Seoul’s subways were cleaner than some other cities’, but they still didn’t smell very good. Maybe the two were related. Jeno stuck close to Mark, who stuck close to the door. They ducked off as soon as they reached their stop and walked the last block to Vision.

Mark pushed the door open. The tang of magic rushed over Jeno, accompanied by various potion ingredients and the individual scents of the coven. _Overwhelming_. He’d never been able to sense magic before, and it remained just out of his reach now, but he liked the scent. They went in. Vision had once been a bookshop, Taeyong had told him. They kept the decorative shelving with glass cabinets for their older tomes and the accompanying rolling ladders. The main floor looked more like a modern shop with shelving for all kinds of wares that Jeno didn’t really know how to use or what they were used for. The two doors in the back wall framed the much-closer checkout counter. A staircase to most of the coven’s home lurked in the back corner. Jaemin sat going through what looked like file folders at the checkout counter. He perked up when they came in. “You’re here! How was the hunt? Mark-hyung, Renjun has your wolfsbane in the back.”

Mark thanked him and passed by with a quick hug. Jaemin latched onto Jeno as soon as he got close enough.

“So?”

“It was good.” Jaemin was really warm. As always, he smelled fresh, like forest pine and magic. Jeno struggled toward the counter with Jaemin’s arms restricting him. “I think I’m getting the hang of the pack dynamics. Where is everyone?”

“Yeah? That’s good.” Jaemin hummed. “The hyungs all got called out on jobs, Yeri’s doing stock, I think the unholy trio are mixing something dangerous upstairs, and my boyfriends are in the back with Mark. Chenle disappeared somewhere and I’m almost afraid to go look for him.”

“Nice.” Donghyuck and Renjun would love torturing Mark. “I’m sure Chenle’s fine. Worst-case scenario, we send Jisung after him. Wait, did you say something dangerous? What are they making?”

“Oh, I’m sure it’s fine.” Jaemin flicked his ear. “How did it go with the pack?”

“Well, I think. Yukhei has been really helpful. He actually got a little irritated with Jisung for pushing me around while we were trying to play.”

“Well.” Jaemin let him go. “As he should; you’re probably still getting your feet under you. You don’t need someone pushing you around, even by accident.”

Jeno shrugged. Maybe the air from outside was getting to him; he felt colder than he had since changing back to human. He zipped his coat back up. “It came out okay, I think.”

Donghyuck peeked out from the back room. “What are you two getting up to out here?” After a full day of work, his hair somehow managed to stay perfect. Even Jaemin’s hair didn’t do that; he had a habit of running his fingers through it while reading or when frustrated.

“Just catching up.” Jaemin made grabby hands at his boyfriend. “Are you done hassling Mark?”

Dongyhuck smirked. “I’m never done hassling Mark.” He crossed to the counter to kiss Jaemin. “But I am taking a break for food because hassling him is hungry work.”

Jaemin laughed. Jeno laughed along because how could he not? His best friends had the best laughter. They were only missing Renjun. “It amazes me that he still hangs out with us.”

“I mean,” Jeno leaned on the counter, “we all know where he lives and I’m in the same pack with him now. So it’s not like he could really run away, because you’d just hassle me into hassling him back here.”

They cracked up again. “That’s true.”

Donghyuck’s stomach growled. He waved himself off to the tiny back kitchen Jeno was never allowed into after the last potion mix-up. Jaemin turned back to Jeno. “So.”

“So.”

“Do you want to see the spell I’m working on? I think Jungwoo might let me try it tomorrow if I prove I studied well enough.”

Jeno hadn’t understood the spells his friends worked when he was five. He understood even less now. “Sure. What exactly are you working on?”

Jaemin dragged him around the counter. “It’s actually just a progression on that series of sleep aids I’ve been working on, but this one’s much more complicated. It’s more like a healing sleep? Something we’d use if someone was deeply injured and not resting properly.”

Jeno hopped onto the empty stool next to Jaemin. “So, like a medically-induced coma?”

Jaemin shrugged. “Probably. I don’t know human medicine.”

Jeno let Jaemin chatter at him about spells until Donghyuck came back and chattered at both of them about food and spells. He might have stayed there all night if Mark hadn’t come out to drag him home.

***

Jaemin whined into the wood of the counter as soon as Mark and Jeno were out of sight. Renjun laughed; he must have finished in the back. “What’s wrong?”

“Stupid Yukhei,” Jaemin whined.

“I think he’s actually very smart, baby.” Renjun hopped onto the stool next to Jaemin. “But what did he do this time?”

Jaemin waved vaguely. “He was helping Jeno out on the pack run? Which is fine, I’m glad he’s adjusting. But are we sure they’re not dating?”

“This again?” Donghyuck came out of the kitchen with sandwiches. “I think Jeno would tell us if they were actually dating.”

Jaemin reached for the food. “That doesn’t mean he couldn’t have feelings he hasn’t told us about.”

Renjun thanked Donghyuck for the sandwich. “I guess. But I still think you’re using Yukhei to deflect how we all feel about Jeno friendzoning us.”

“Maybe.” Jaemin bit into his sandwich. Donghyuck had made his favorite without even being asked. “Hyuckie, I love you.” Donghyuck blew him a kiss. “But you have to admit they’re a lot closer now.”

“Are you crying about Jeno again?” Yeri dropped a stack of books on the counter, sending up puffs of dust. “Just ask him out or something, please.”

“That would require us to actually have some guts,” Donghyuck pointed out.

Sicheng wandered back into the shop. “Why are you all hanging out at the counter, don’t you have work to do?”

They did, in fact. Yeri, Renjun, and Donghyuck scattered to different spots in the shop, while Jaemin poked through the books Yeri had brought him. “How was your case, hyung?”

Sicheng shrugged. He picked up the first of the books, one that Jaemin had set aside. It was a useful reference text, but it wasn’t specific enough to be of use to him. “It was fine. I don’t really know why I had to leave the shop for it. She could have come to pick up the potion on her own, but apparently that would have been too much work.”

They chatted about customers for a while more. Jaemin had a few horror stories just for just from that morning. He waved as Taeyong entered the store, only to wince when something exploded upstairs. They collectively peeked up in apprehension. Taeyong closed the door, probably in case anyone could hear yelling.

“It’s fine,” Yanyang rushed to the landing and stuck his head in just below the ceiling. “It’s fine. I promise. We’re handling it, everything is fine.”

Taeyong rolled his eyes. “What did you do this time, Yangyang?”

Yangyang smiled winningly. “Nothing~ would you believe it wasn’t me this time?”

“No,” the older witches said in unison. Jaemin’s boyfriends hadn’t even bothered coming out to look. He had heard Yeri shriek at the bang, but even she was desensitized to the noise by now.

“I’m calling Kun.” Sicheng pulled out his phone while Yangyang whined. “He’ll know what we should do with you.”

Taeyong sighed while Sicheng spoke into his cell in rapid Mandarin. “Let’s go see how bad the damage is.”

“It’s really not that bad,” Yangyang insisted, but he led them back upstairs without argument. Jaemin tagged along. The unholy trio were like a trainwreck with their experiments he had to see it. Their living room was a mild disaster. It looked like a large potion bottle had liquified and then exploded. Blobs of glass stuck to the table, the floor, the couch, the walls. Still, most of the damage was contained to the blob in the center of the floor where the bottle had been. Dejun sat safely on the couch, slightly out of breath. Kunhang was poking at the blob. Their hair was equally disheveled. If it weren’t for the disaster that was the rest of the room, Jaemin would just have thought they had been making out.

“What did you do?”

“Well,” they started together. “We were just curious, really.”

“Yangyang wanted to know if we could make a potion to make superman,” Dejun admitted when they all stared at him. “So we tried to mix a strength and a speed potion together. It didn’t go so well.”

“No, really?” Jaemin waved at the rest of the room. “What gave you that idea?”

Kunhang giggled. “It almost worked though.”

“No, it didn’t.” Taeyong shook his head. “I’ll let Kun come up with something to teach you for this. But for now. Dejun.” He pointed.

“Yes?”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but rein these two in, please.” He waved at the rest of the room. “I’d like the room to be usable once we get it clean.”

“I’ll make sure they clean it,” Sicheng said behind them. “Kun won’t be back for a little while—he and Ten were on a date on the other side of the city—but that should give us time to get it cleaned.”

“Great.” Taeyong grabbed Jaemin. “We’ll be downstairs if you need us. Jaemin, you have a test later, don’t you?”

“Yep.” Jaemin followed Taeyong downstairs as Sicheng told Yangyang get their strongest solvent. “I was going to ask if someone could swap desk duty with me, actually.”

“I’ll keep an eye on the front, you go study. Jungwoo will be back soon.”

“Thanks, hyung.” He hugged Taeyong and sped off. He liked Jungwoo, but the other was a notoriously hard tester.

***

Jeno stiffened in his seat when the world whirled around him. He had never felt anything like the sensation bursting through him before, let alone his wolf howling inside, but Yukhei had mentioned something like this happening when they first spoke about what changes he could expect. Jaemin, Renjun, and Donghyuck didn't seem to notice anything different, but would a witch notice this? He slid out of the booth, edging away from Renjun gently so he wouldn't be upset.

“I'm going to the bathroom,” he said when they looked up. “I'll be back in a minute.” He tried to walk slowly through the cafe so he wouldn’t draw too much attention either from his friends or from the customers and staff. They came here too often for him to make a scene. Jeno slipped into the bathroom and locked himself into one of the stalls; thankfully the whole place was empty. He pulled out his phone and punched Yukhei's contact, hand shaking.

“ _What's up, Jeno?_ ” Yukhei's voice rang through his ear. Even though he wasn't there to calm Jeno with his scent or his presence, his voice almost did the trick.

“Something weird is going on. I—I'm not sure. I've never ... you said this month the magic would kick in, right?”

“ _Yes, you should feel the pack more next hunt, but some other stuff should hit soon. What's going on? What are you feeling?_ ”

Jeno took a deep breath. “I think ... I think this might be imprinting?”

When Yukhei’s tone sharpened it didn't upset him the way it would have if they were together in person—no scent to startle him. “ _You imprinted on someone? Who?_ ”

“I don't know?!” Jeno tried to keep his voice down, but he wasn't sure how successful he was. He peeked out of the stall; luckily the bathroom remained empty. “I don't know if that's what this is. I don't know who it is. I just know I'm freaking out, Xuxi.”

“ _Okay, deep breaths._ ” Yukhei hadn't had to do this for him in weeks. He had thought he was making progress. Jeno took one breath. Then another. “ _Good. Keep breathing and tell me what you're feeling, okay?_ ”

“I feel ... my wolf's howling? I don't know how to describe it, we were sitting in the cafe and everything was fine one second and then the next the world turned on its head.” He closed his eyes. “They smell like home.”

_“Who does?”_

“Renjun,” a cool ocean breeze, yet so warm next to him, “Donghyuck,” a hot burning fire, smiling across from him, “Jaemin.” A fresh forest, furthest from him but still so bright. “All three of them? I think? I don't know. I just know I feel this pull all of a sudden and I don't know what to do with it.”

“ _Okay_.” Yukhei paused. Jeno could almost see him frown. “ _Okay, here's what we're going to do. Where are you?_ ”

“I'm in the bathroom. I excused myself and then locked myself in a stall to call you.”

“ _When we hang up, you're going to go back there and stay calm. I’ll come pick you up and we'll figure this out. Tell them I'm coming to get you for an emergency pack meeting._ ”

“Is there an emergency pack meeting?”

“ _There is now. I'll get you and bring you back and we'll work through what you're sensing. It could be what you think it is, or you could be psyching yourself out. We'll know more later, and the older wolves can help you figure out more, okay? Just sit and breathe and don't do anything stupid._ ”

“Because I’m so prone to stupidity?” He sighed. “Okay. I'll go out there and try to be calm.”

_“Good. I'll be there soon.”_

“Thanks, hyung.”

_“Of course.”_

In the silence after the end of the call, Jeno allowed himself three more deep breaths of clean air. He stepped out. Another customer ducked past him to get into the bathroom. The cafe remained still as he walked through. He tried to hold onto that as he sat. Renjun eyed him but the other two didn't seem to notice anything odd.

“You okay?”

Jeno shrugged. “I'm fine. Yukhei called while I was in the bathroom, apparently there's an emergency pack meeting.”

Jaemin and Donghyuck looked at each other.

“Why do they need you there?”

Jeno tipped his head to one side. “I got the impression the meeting was more for me than anyone else? As a learning experience.”

“And they couldn’t have planned this for a better day?” Donghyuck shook his head. “Never mind.”

Jeno played with his drink.

Yukhei strode up to their table wearing his habitual smile. Jeno relaxed as soon as he scented the older wolf entering the cafe. He had asked Yukhei once if it was anything like vampire siring, the way Yukhei's scent calmed him, but Yukhei had scoffed and told him not to watch too many movies. So he didn't actually know. But Yukhei's scent, his presence, his voice calmed him in a way nothing else had since he was a child and had clung to his mother when he was sad. He hadn't seen his mother in quite a while, actually. He should call her soon. Jeno shook off the thoughts and smiled up at Yukhei when he arrived at the table.

“Hey! I'm sorry to drag him away,” Yukhei turned toward the rest of the table, “but it is really important. I'll try to have him back soon.”

Donghyuck nodded. Jaemin didn’t say anything. Renjun waved.

Yukhie looked back down at Jeno. “Are you ready to go?”

Jeno nodded. Yukhei gave him a hand up. “I'll see you later, guys.” He waved at his friends. They waved back.

Yukhei slung an arm over Jeno's shoulders as they walked out. “How are you feeling, buddy?”

“Better now.” Jeno let himself lean against Yukhei. “It's not ... bad? It didn't hurt, I'm just so confused.”

“It'll be okay.” Yukhei kept a comforting grip on him as they got into the car. Yukhei might have edged his way over the speed limit a few too many times, but no one had stopped them, so Jeno tried to ignore it. “Here we are.”

Jeno tailed Yukhei into the pack house. Yukhei hadn’t been kidding about calling a meeting; cars dotted the driveway and street out front, and the bin by the front door was full of shoes. Joohyun glanced up from the couch as they walked in. “What's got you all twisted up?”

“What?”

“Your eyes are flickering, puppy.”

“Damn it.” Jeno clapped a hand over his eyes. Yukhei patted Jeno on the shoulder and guided him into a seat.

“It's okay, it happens, you're still learning. Hold on while I tell the guys we're here.”

“Won't they already know?”

“Yeah, but for all they know, we're still having a private conversation and they wouldn't want to interrupt.” Yukhei patted him once more before padding out of the room.

“You never answered my question.” Joohyun must have moved closer, he could hear her much more clearly.

“What?”

“I asked you what was upsetting you, Jeno. What's wrong?”

Jeno dropped his hand. Joohyun crouched in front of him. Despite not being the pack leader, everyone took to her as a motherly figure. He sighed. “I think I might have imprinted? Yukhei said I would be able to start seeing things like this this month. But I don't know for sure and I’m really confused.”

“Oh, congratulations.” Joohyun patted his knee. “The pack will help. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't something terrible.”

Jeno shrugged. “I don't think so?”

“No, you'll be fine.” She patted him again before going back to her book on the couch.

Yukhei led the other pack members present back into the room. Taeil should have been in front as pack leader, Jeno had learned that much, but perhaps Jeno’s situation gave Yukhei precedence. Taeil came second behind Yukhei, with Johnny, Yuta, and Doyoung behind him. Jisung, Seulgi, and Jaehyun followed. Yukhei sat next to him.

“So, what exactly happened?” Taeil focused on him.

Jeno sat a little straighter. “I was sitting in the cafe with Renjun, Hyuck, and Jaemin. One second everything was fine and the next everything smelled different. My wolf was howling and I didn't know how to handle it so I went into the bathroom and called Yukhei. He got me out of there and brought me here. I think it might have been imprinting?”

The pack considered that. “If you think it was imprinting, it probably was.” Yuta crossed his legs. “It's not something you can really reinterpret. How do you feel now?”

Jeno checked with his wolf. He had settled, but a low growl sat unheard deep in his chest. “Calmer. I got calmer as soon as Yukhei showed up and then more when we left the room. But my wolf still feels ... restless. It's like something's missing and he knows but he doesn't know where to go or how to get it back.”

“Yeah, you imprinted.”

“You couldn't have told me that?” Jeno glanced at Yukhei.

Yukhei shrugged. “I don't actually know what it feels like, I haven't imprinted.” He frowned. “So I couldn't be sure.”

“Okay. Wait. Does that mean that I imprinted on all three of my best friends?! What the fuck.” Yukhei patted his leg. It didn’t help.

Mark came in and stopped dead. “You what? Why are you upset by that, they’re all dating.”

“They're all dating, that's the problem! They wouldn't want a fourth person in their relationship. Even if they did, why would it be me? I'm not into them like that. Why are they the ones it's been decided I belong to?”

“Okay, breathe.” Doyoung waved him down. Yukhei put a hand on the back of his neck, bringing his smoky scent closer until Jeno’s head cleared a little. “You don't know who it is, yet. It could be all three of them, but they all smell like each other.”

“Huh?”

Mark gestured vaguely. “You know, those three are so close all the time, they actually pick up each others' scents? It's hard to tell them apart sometimes when they're really close. And you were sitting with all three, right?”

Jeno nodded.

“So it's possible that all three are your mates, but it's also possible that only one of them is. Or two.”

“Wait a second, is it even possible to have more than one? I didn't even think about that, I just panicked.”

“It is.” Johnny stood. “It's not that common, but it's possible and perfectly doable. You remember the pack we told you about, the one you'll meet at the next big gathering?” He went to the bookshelf and started scanning for something.

“From Gangwon? Yeah, I do.”

Taeil nodded. “They have three members mated. And I'm surprised because you know your friends make it work with three of them, why wouldn't it work out here?”

Jeno shrugged. “Predestination seems different from personal choices?”

“It's not exactly predestination.”

“But that's not the point.” Mark came over to crouch in the small space between him and Yukhei. “The point is you don't know who your mate is and you won't know until you get each of them alone to check. That's what I think, anyway.”

“But isn't that worse?” Jeno stood, pacing the length of the room. “If it's all three of them, I'm screwed because why would they add a fourth person to their relationship? If it's one or two of them, I'm even more screwed because that's cheating, right? If I would be stuck with only one of them?”

“Well, not exactly.” Yukhei grabbed his arm and dragged him back to his seat. “Sit and breathe.”

Jeno breathed until Yukhei's scent did its job.

“First,” Yukhei raised one finger, “polyamory doesn't work like that. It wouldn't be cheating if you were with one of them and they were with others as long as everyone knew about it. Secondly,” he put up a second finger, “I don't think that you have to imprint on all three of them to join their relationship if you want to?” He glanced around. “That doesn't have to happen, right?”

“Right. There's no rule about this at all, really.” Doyoung came to perch on the arm of Jeno’s chair. “It's not predestination forcing you into a relationship with only this person or that person. If you like all three of them, you like all three of them, and you're just tied to one of them. It would be fine.”

“But I don't even like them like that!” Jeno tried to burst up again, but Yukhei pulled him down. “That's the other problem. Why am I tied to my best friends? We're friends. It's not romantic. This is going to screw everything up.”

“Are you sure about that?” Doyoung raised an eyebrow. “It’s your three best friends whom you may have imprinted on. There's usually a reason for that.”

They were great people. But no, it wouldn't work. Why would they even want him when they had each other? “I don't. Really.”

“Okay.” Taeil called everyone back to attention without having to move. One word had them all focusing on his spot on the couch. “Let's all calm down. Yukhei, can you work with Jeno on this? Now that he knows what imprinting feels like, he should be able to figure out who it is and you can make sure he doesn't ruin anything, since you're so worried about that.”

“Yeah, that's fine.”

“So.” Taeil turned back to Jeno. “Here's your homework. Get each of them alone and check whether the tug is with them or not. You should be able to tell as soon as you're around any of them alone. If it's more than one, the tug will be stronger when you're all together but you don't actually know the difference yet. So you're going to check, come back to us to check in and then we'll figure out what you want to do, okay?”

Jeno let out a breath. He nodded. “I will do that.”

“Good. Don't be afraid to use Yukhei if you need help.”

“Thanks, hyung.”

“No problem.”

Jeno had to snort at the volunteering. Doyoung hugged him quickly from the side. “Do you want to go for a run? It could let your wolf relax a little.”

Jeno nodded. “That would be good.”

The run did help him calm down, even if the forest smelled a little too much like Jaemin now. He chased Yukhei while Doyoung chased him, and when they collapsed into a pile in the backyard, he could almost convince himself it was still last week, when things were normal.

***

Jeno came into class fifteen minutes early, as soon as the previous class let out. He had a good ten minutes before Donghyuck would show up, like a reasonable student. The lecture hall was still pretty empty. Only a few students loitered by desks, chatting. Jeno dropped his bag into his usual spot near the back of the room. He tried to keep his hands from shaking. It would be fine. Donghyuck would come in, he’d smell normal, this would all turn out to be a crazy dream.

He couldn’t have imprinted on his best friend. Jeno paced behind his row of desks. But they were all his best friends. He’d known them all too long—since he met Mark and Donghyuck (the cliche witch and werewolf pair) as a kid, and then the whole coven. Wouldn’t it be wrong to chance things now, because of stupid wolf instincts? Jeno cut off his pacing to allow another student into the row. He sat, unpacking his notebook and pens for class.

He’s just have to find a way to get Jaemin or Renjun alone at movie night. Yangyang might help if he thought it was for a prank. Jeno pretended to review his notes, in case Donghyuck came in. He could always camp out at their next group gathering until he got the other one. Maybe he’d catch someone if he showed up early. 

It didn’t take Donghyuck long to wander in. He frowned when he saw Jeno, but still waved at him and hurried over. Jeno took one last breath of easy air before Donghyuck was in breathing distance. Jeno pasted on a smile.

Donghyuck dropped into the seat next to him, refusing to look Jeno’s way. The fire hit him like a slap in the face, longing pulling at his gut as soon as he caught Donghyuck's scent. His wolf preened. Jeno found the sensation intensely uncomfortable but shook it off.

“What's the matter, Hyuck?”

“Oh now you want to call me Hyuck? You barely said goodbye yesterday.” Donghyuck huffed. “It was supposed to be our hangout. It better have been important.”

“It was. I'm hitting the point in the transformation when some things start changing and they wanted to cover that, especially after what happened with Jisung.” It wasn't even a lie. “I'm sorry I had to leave early.”

“Hmph.” Donghyuck focused on his notes.

There was no helping it, was there? Jeno draped himself over Donghyuck from the side. “I'm sorryy,” he dragged the syllables out into a mild whine—not the kind his wolf would be capable of, but just the kind that Donghyuck had been pulling out of him for years. A mild current seemed to flow through him everywhere he touched Donghyuck. “It was really important. I promise. I'll make it up to all of you next time.”

“Hmm.” Donghyuck eyed him. Jeno pouted. Donghyuck sighed and shoved him off. Jeno tried not to actually sigh in relief. “Fine. I forgive you. But you'll have to deal with my boyfriends on your own.”

“I can handle that. I think.”

Donghyuck laughed, full-bodied, throwing his head back and everything. Jeno stared. The light from the window lit Donghyuck from behind. Donghyuck was beautiful. How had Jeno never noticed that before? Jeno turned toward the front before Donghyuck stopped laughing. His wolf protested but there wasn’t much he could do.

Donghyuck nodded. “So what kind of changes are we talking about?” He poked Jeno's arm. “You don't look any buffer than yesterday.”

Jeno shoved him—very gently. “Not those kinds of changes. That all happens immediately. It's the more internal stuff that can take a while to sink in.”

“Like what?”

Luckily the professor walked in, sparing Jeno from having to make something up to further placate Donghyuck.

Donghyuck settled into the rhythm of class, leaning close to Jeno every once in a while to whisper to him. Jeno concentrated on his breathing and the professor's voice as class continued.

Jeno stood as soon as the professor dismissed them. “I'm sorry, I've got to go.” He didn’t wait to see what Donghyuck would say. Maybe another run would help keep him sane.

***

Donghyuck trudged into the magic shop. His boyfriends turned from the counter when the bell rang. Gentle incense wafted through the air. The shop was empty of customers, which suited Donghyuck just fine.

“Baby, are you okay?” Jaemin came over to hug him.

Donghyuck sank into him. “I'm just ... pouty. Jeno apologized in class, which was nice of him, but he ran off right after, I think he was meeting up with Yukhei.”

Jaemin frowned. “ _Again?_ ”

Donghyuck shrugged. “He didn't actually say, but he ran off pretty quickly. He's always with Yukhei lately.” Not that there was anything wrong with Yukhei. He was really nice—but did he really have to take up all of Jeno’s time?

Jaemin scoffed, but clung to him when Donghyuck made his way over to the counter to greet Renjun.

“Hi.”

“Hello there.” Renjun kissed him. “Jeno didn't say where he was going?”

“No, he just left.” Donghyuck twisted to kiss the pout off Jaemin's face. “I just assumed because they're together a lot recently. He said he'd apologize to both of you for running out on lunch, and I told him he was on his own there.”

Renjun frowned in contemplation. “Are we sure they're dating?”

“Well, maybe not actually dating; It might just be hooking up, but I'm pretty sure, yeah.” Jaemin shrugged, but Donghyuck had no trouble reading the pain in that small movement. “Have you seen how touchy they are with each other?”

“You're super touchy, “ Renjun pointed out. “So is Hyuck.”

“Yeah but Jeno isn't, at least he never was before.”

“He has a point.” Donghyuck wriggled out of Jaemin’s arms, but took his hand as they walked behind the counter.

“And have you seen the way Jeno looks at him? There's something there.”

Renjun sighed. “I know. I don’t want to think that Jeno would hide something like that”

Jaemin took Renjun’s hand to play with his fingers. “Me either. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”

Before they could drift too far in thought, Taeyong came out from the back of the shop with Yeri. “Donghyuck, I’m glad you’re back. Would you and Yeri go pick up some supplies?”

Donghyuck slipped away from his boyfriends. Yeri already had the list hidden behind her back. They scuffled for it until Taeyong eyed them both.

“Renjun, you can keep manning the desk, but I want Jaemin with me to work on this next spell.”

They scattered to their tasks as Taeyong sighed after them about grey hairs.

***

One down, two still unknown. He almost didn't want to know but at the same time he had to. Jeno let himself into Yukhei's apartment. He toed off his shoes and dropped his bag by the door. His wolf was even more riled up since seeing Donghyuck. How was he ever going to manage this?

“Hyung, I need to talk to you.” Jeno stepped into the living room and froze. “Oh my god.”

Mark jerked away from his spot on Yukhei's lap. Both had shirts half-unbuttoned, Mark more than Yukhei. Their hair was equally messy. Was that a hickey? “Uh ...”

“I did not need to see that.” Jeno turned away. “I mean, congrats? But I never needed that image in my head.”

“Yeah. Sorry.” Mark moved around a little more. “We’re decent, you can look.”

“Decent is debatable.” But Jeno turned to find two passably put-together wolves looking anywhere but at him. “I guess it’s fine, then.”

“But ...” they glanced at each other. “Don't tell anyone, okay? We're still figuring things out.”

Jeno bit back the question of what more there was to figure out if they were kissing like that.

“What did you want to talk about?” Yukhei waved him toward a chair.

Jeno dropped into it. “I had class with Donghyuck today.”

“And?'

“I've definitely imprinted on him.”

They stared at him. “And?”

Jeno squirmed. “He's _really_ pretty.”

“Yes,” both said, then glanced at each other, shrugged. Yukhei continued. “Objectively speaking, Donghyuck's one of the prettiest guys I've ever met. So are his boyfriends. You have really good looking friends, did you really never notice that?”

Jeno shrugged. “I mean, yeah, they're really pretty.”

“But ...” Mark cocked his head. “Something's different now? with Hyuck?”

A lot of things were different. “I mean ... yeah.” It didn't sit very well with him. “I don't like it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean ... I’m torn. My wolf looks at Donghyuck, and suddenly I'm attracted to him? What is that? Don't I get a choice?”

“You think people get a choice in whom they're attracted to?” Mark rolled his eyes.

“You know that's not what I meant. Why should some magic thing decide who my life partner is?”

“It's not some magic force deciding who your life partner is. I don't think that's the first issue here.” Mark stalked forward. “Are you really going to try to tell me, of all people, that you don't have feelings for him? For any of them? That you've never looked at them differently?”

Jeno stood to back away. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Really, Jeno? Don't you?” Mark stalked closer. “You could’ve probably fooled almost everyone else, but not me. Don't you remember your birthday part a few years ago? Everyone else had left, but I stuck around to help you clean. You wouldn’t stop talking about how lovely your friends were.”

Jeno sputtered as he backed away. “I ...” he sighed. “Yeah, I like them.”

“See?” Mark stepped back. “It's not ... Xuxi, how would you explain this?”

Yukhei sat forward as Mark curled back into the couch.

“Imprinting isn't the ultimate predestination you think it is.” Yukhei glanced at Mark. “Sure, sometimes people meet and just know, like Yuta-hyung. You can ask him what happened the first time he met Taeyong-hyung. It was like that,” he snapped his fingers, “and he knew. I think even Taeyong-hyung knew. But it doesn’t always work like that. It isn't fate deciding who your single perfect match is, it's your wolf determining who suits them best. That can take seconds or months or even years. Your wolf chose whomever he chose in large part because of your feelings. Part of it is instinct, chemistry, whatever you're thinking fate might be, but mostly it's you.” he shrugged.

Jeno sat. Yukhei’s words washed through him, carrying truth. So the imprinting was all on him. “I still don't think this is going to go very well. One, two, or all three of them, does it really matter at this point?”

“Of course it matters.” Mark leaned in. “What are you thinking?”

“Like I said before, they already have three people to handle, why would they want a fourth, especially when it took something like this to make me realize my feelings?”

“Hey.” Yukhei pointed at him. “Feelings are hard. Don’t put yourself down over them.”

“Thanks.”

“Do you want to hang out here for a while?”

Jeno shrugged and stood. “I think I’m going to go for a run, then go home and get some work done.”

He headed out after rebuffing their offers to come along. At this point, all he wanted was some peace alone.

***

Jeno closed his laptop when someone knocked on his door. His room at the pack house was smaller than his room at his mother’s had been, but at least he still had his own room. It felt a little like a school dorm, with the twin bed on one wall next to a standard desk, but the floors were much too nice for a school dorm. Mark stuck his head through the crack in the door.

“Did I hear voices?”

Jeno stretched. “I was calling my mom.”

Mark grinned. “How is she? Is she enjoying Busan?” 

“Yeah, she says it’s been great—though it’s only been a couple of months, so she could still make a nemesis at the supermarket or something.” It had been just after his change, actually. The pack had helped her move. It had taken some doing to negotiate coming into the Busan pack’s territory, but apparently Taeil was a capable negotiator. They had been allowed to stay overnight to give Jeno another night with her before they had to return. “She’s still adjusting to me being gone, though. She keeps asking if I’ve eaten.”

Mark laughed, leaning more fully into the door. “Did you tell her you’re a bottomless pit now?”

“She’s seen you eat, I don’t know why she’s convinced I suddenly have no appetite.”

He shrugged. “She’s a mom, it’s probably her job to worry.”

“Fair enough.” Jeno stretched to set his laptop on the desk. “Did you just come up because you heard voices, or was there something else?”

“Oh, yeah.” Mark straightened. “We’re setting up game night for after dinner. Come help?”

“Oh.” Jeno scrambled off his bed. “Yeah, I’ll be right behind you.”

Mark led him down the wide staircase. “So how’s it going with your witches?”

Jeno groaned. “Don’t remind me.” He hadn’t been able to get Donghyuck’s scent out of his head since their class together. “Movie night is soon. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“Act normal.” Mark swung around the post at the bottom of the staircase. “It’s about the only thing you can do.”

“Thanks,” Jeno said dryly. He followed Mark into the living room. “That’s so helpful, hyung.”

“Glad to be of service!” he darted off to help Yukhei with some chairs before Jeno could respond.

Game night was Jeno’s favorite part about living at the pack house. The whole pack crammed into the building to play a mini-tournament of games—charades, trivia, and video games, to cater to all tastes, according to Johnny. The pack was already crowding in. Jeno bounded up to Taeil for instructions. Taeil set him to help organize the chairs since they had enough people in the kitchen—and Jeno was admittedly not the best in that area. He took the chairs Yukhei passed him and set them around the room, close to the walls in as wide a circle as possible. Pack members trickled in as they finished. Seulgi was the last, locking the door behind her. Then it was time for dinner.

Everyone claimed one of the seats Jeno had helped set up after getting some food. The dining room was much too small to hold them all. Jeno found himself squished between Mark and Yukhei. It was his usual spot, but after what he’d seen, he didn’t know whether to be grateful he was preventing canoodling or annoyed being stuck between them.

Yukhei nudged him with a shoulder. “So? How’s it going?”

“Oh, no,” Jeno groaned. “Is this all anyone’s going to ask me tonight?”

“Yes,” they answered together. “Your drama is the most interesting thing going on right now,” Mark told him. “Get used to it.”

“So?”

Jeno grumbled. “I’ve been busy enough that I haven’t seen any of them since my class with Hyuck.” Only a couple of days, and yet it felt like forever. “I’m going to go over early on movie night and see who I can catch.”

Yukhei nodded. “That’s a good plan. But how do you feel about it?”

He growled. “I don’t know, okay? I don’t know.” It was true enough. “This whole thing is just weird. They’re my best friends, no matter what this changes.”

And yet, as they cleaned up the food and got settled in for game night, Jeno could not stop thinking about it. He sat with his team—Mark, Yukhei, and Doyoung—against the other teams to start charades. He remembered how different Donghyuck had looked in class, how he had smelled. His moles were so cute. 

Seulgi’s team started off strong with movies. They would stick with that category until wolf practically purred, thinking about it. That was probably a sign, too. But it was too weird, to suddenly see his friend differently after so long. Jeno ducked to avoid a knee to the face as Yukhei practically jumped over their whole team to take his turn. Donghyuck thought it was cute, how uncoordinated some of the wolves could be considering their collective physical prowess. His boyfriends just thought he was cute. Jeno made a couple of guesses before Mark somehow figured out “Hit and Run Squad” from Yukhei’s wiggling. 

The day those three got together had been interesting. Jeno picked himself up off the floor to trade places with Yukhei. He got his movie—”Pancakes”—and turned to play, but his mind was far away. Renjun, Jaemin, and Donghyuck had seemed so worried to tell him that they were together, almost like they were afraid to come out, but all of them had been out since high school. Jeno mimed eating, down to cutting the pancakes. He had been happy for them, really he had. His stomach had dropped a little, but that had to have been fear that they would stop hanging out with him as much. He had smiled, and congratulated them, and meant it.

Jeno made the sign for “sounds like” before miming a handshake. His team members tried various guesses. That worry had been for nothing; they still hung out just as much as they always had, though each of them told him about dates they had gone on together.

Doyoung finally got it, and Jeno could sit down. They watched the next group go; for someone who had had to convince the rest of the pack to incorporate charades into their series of games, Johnny wasn’t exactly good at it. That sinking feeling Jeno had fought off had faded eventually, when nothing changed. Why did things have to change?

Donghyuck would have smacked him for whining about it, though. He was always the one to remind them that everything had to change. And things were changing. Jeno threw himself back into the games when they made it to the video game round. This, at least, he was passably good at.

***

Jeno let himself into the magic shop through the back like he always did on Saturday nights. The back door led to the workshop, so he moved very carefully into the main shop. He waved at Sicheng and Jaehyun, flirting by the desk. “Are you not going out for the night?”

“Of course we are.” Jaehyun frowned at him playfully. “I could have given you a ride over here, you know.”

Jeno shrugged. “I’m used to the walk. It’s nice.”

“Whatever you say.” Sicheng tugged Jaehyun toward the door. “Renjun's getting set up upstairs. The others are on their way.” They ducked out. Jeno took a moment to collect himself before heading upstairs. Here came take two.

Like the pack house, not everyone lived above the magic shop. There was plenty of space, but that was because it had been expanded magically in a way Jeno had never been able to wrap his head around. Unlike the pack house, the upper floor contained many smaller rooms that flowed into each other rather than several large rooms. Jeno padded up the stairs into the living room. Renjun stood up from the floor where he had been arranging blankets. Renjun’s scent rolled over him like a wave from his sea. Jeno leaned in the doorway, trying to look casual while his wolf keened deep inside.

“Hey.” Renjun padded over.

This was supposed to be a happy moment; he wished he didn’t have to ruin it with reality. Having two mates didn’t mean either wanted him. Jeno smiled at Renjun, pushing off the wall. “Hey.” He pouted carefully. Although Renjun liked to pretend otherwise, he was weak to others' affection. “I'm sorry I had to run out of lunch early the other day. Are you still mad?”

Renjun sighed. “Was it important?”

Jeno nodded.

“Then it's okay.” Renjun crept closer. He hugged Jeno from the side. “As long as you don't ditch us all the time, I don't mind you having to leave for a few important things. As for Jaemin,” he laughed. “Good luck with him.”

Jeno leaned into the hug. “Yeah, I know he's gonna give me the most grief.”

Yangyang burst into the room with an armful of snacks. “I come bearing gifts. Appreciate them, I had to sneak away from my boyfriends.”

Jeno laughed. He pulled away from Renjun to take some of the snacks. “What are Dejun and Hendery getting up to since they can’t have these then?”

Renjun went back to the blankets as he and Yangyang spread the snacks out over the coffee table. Yangyang snuck in a handful of popcorn. “They’re watching _Avatar_ , since apparently I talk too much if I’ve seen something before and they want an “untainted first time.”“

“… Okay then.” He should have known better than to ask about the unholy trio.

Yeri, Donghyuck, and Jaemin traipsed in together, talking about a spell that went over his head. Yeri passed the movie over to Renjun and stole the couch’s corner spot. Jeno slid around Yangyang as they headed for the couch, dropping next to Yeri, and prayed. Yangyang didn't seem to think before dropping into the seat next to him. Jeno relaxed between the two safe friends as Renjun finished setting up the movie and cuddled up to his boyfriends. Jeno forced himself to look away and focus on the movie. Two had been painful enough. He didn’t want to think about what would happen when he caught Jaemin alone.

He walked home slowly after the movie so the night air could clear his head.

***

Donghyuck poked Renjun's cheek once the three were alone. Renjun slapped his hand down and Donghyuck pouted.

“What's got you smiling so much?” Jaemin draped himself over both of them.

“Jeno showed up before you did and apologized about the lunch. I told him it was fine with me and then I got a hug. I warned him that you'd still be pissed,” he tipped his chin at Jaemin, who shrugged.

“I might be.”

Donghyuck elbowed him. “Don’t be too hard on him, it’s not his fault he has pack commitments.”

Jaemin gasped. “Did you just strike me?”

“I did not.” Donghyuck wriggled out of Jaemin’s grip. “I only nudged you a little.”

“Come back here.” Jaemin dashed after Donghyuck. Renjun settled onto a stool with his blanket to enjoy the show.

Jaemin almost caught Donghyuck several times, only for Donghyuck to duck behind Kun and Ten entering the shop.

“What are you doing?” Kun raised an eyebrow.

“Nothing,” they chorused.

“Sure.” They shoved Renjun’s boyfriends toward him.

“Go to bed,” Ten told them. “I don’t want to have to clean up another spilled potion at 2 a.m.”

“That wasn’t even us,” Renjun argued, but he did lead Donghyuck and Jaemin toward the stairs.

“Goodnight.”

***

Jeno had to stop and calm his wolf a block from the cafe. Jaemin would have questions if his eyes kept flickering to wolf blue. It would be fine. Jaemin couldn’t be his mate, too, right? No fate would be that cruel. Jeno checked the time before he stepped into the cafe. The lunch rush hadn’t started, so Jaemin sat relatively alone at their table. Jeno left the space next to Jaemin open and sat across from him. “Hi.” Fresh forest sank into his bones; three for three.

“Hi.” Jaemin watched him steadily as Jeno ordered a small drink from Hyunjin, their favorite waiter.

Jeno pulled himself together. “I’m sorry about last time. I shouldn’t have cut into our time.”

Jaemin reached to poke the back of Jeno’s hand briefly. “Do you think I’m still mad about that?”

Jeno poked Jaemin’s hand in return. “Maybe? I was warned you’d be the hardest one to win over.”

Jaemin laughed. “I know I can be dramatic, but even I understand the importance of “emergency pack meeting.” I’m just a little sad.”

Hyunjin came by with Jeno’s drink. Jeno downed it immediately so he wouldn’t have to respond. Renjun and Donghyuck came not long after. He texted Yukhei a simple “3” when he saw them coming. Yukhei’s response came just before they made it to the table: _I’m on my way_.

After the last time, though he still didn't know why things had gotten so weird, Jeno knew better than to let Yukhei come all the way over to the table. As soon as Jeno spotted him, he stepped over to meet him by the entrance.

“Hyung ...”

“Hey, didn't we talk about this?” Yukhei put a hand on the back of his neck, rubbing his thumb over the skin under Jeno's ear. No one had ever done that before Yukhei, and he wasn't sure if it was soothing because of the gesture or the person, but it settled him nonetheless. Jeno leaned into Yukhei, head on his shoulder. “Okay, okay. What's up?”

“You know what's up,” Jeno muttered into his shirt. “It's all three of them, hyung. I don't know what to do.”

“Okay.” Yukhei hugged him. “We'll figure it out.”

“Thanks.” Jeno pulled upright. “Should we go?”

Yukhei kissed his cheek. “Sure.”

As they separated, Jeno stiffened. Jaemin was coming toward them. Renjun and Donghyuck’s worried expressions made Jeno's heart stop. This couldn’t be good.

“Jaemin?”

Jaemin ignored him, walking right up to Yukhei. “Who do you think you are?”

“What?”

“We’re his best friends; we’ve always been the ones he’s closest to. Who do you think you are taking him away from us?”

Jeno froze. He had never heard Jaemin sound like this; As dramatic as he could be, Jaemin rarely ever got mad, and never _this_ angry. He didn’t even understand why Jaemin was yelling.

“What are you talking about?” Yukhei looked confused.

No matter what Jaemin was mad about, Jeno couldn’t let Yukhei be yelled at. Not over him. Jeno stepped between them, nudging Yukhei behind him. “Jaemin, what the hell?”

Jaemin blinked at him.

Jeno pushed Yukhei back more. The poor guy hadn’t even gotten angry, just confused. Jeno could practically feel the distress pouring off him. Jeno wasn’t much better. “Let’s go, Xuxi.” He turned to grab Yukhei’s arm. Jeno dragged Yukhei out of the cafe. Why was the universe conspiring to turn everything against him?

***

Jaemin sank to the ground as Jeno pulled Yukhei away. What had he done? Renjun and Donghyuck hurried over.

“Are you okay?” Donghyuck stuck close to his right side.

“What did you say to him?” Renjun kept a tight grip from Jaemin's left despite the question.

Jaemin just shook his head. The two moved a little; he thought they might have looked at each other over his head. Then they pulled at him from both sides until he stood along with them.

“Let's go home, okay? We can try to talk there.”

Jaemin followed them back to the magic shop in a daze. Jungwoo rushed around the counter when they entered. “What happened?”

“We don't exactly know?” Donghyuck said. “Jeno and Jaemin kind of had a fight but we didn't hear everything.”

Jaemin dropped into a chair by the counter.

“Now.” Renjun hopped onto the counter while Donghyuck crouched in front of Jaemin. “What happened?”

Jaemin took a deep breath. “I saw Yukhei and Jeno being all cuddly and I just … we’re all so left out about it and we haven’t been able to say anything at all and I guess it just built up? I kind of lost it and yelled at Yukhei. Then Jeno got mad and they both left.” He shrugged helplessly. “I screwed up.”

Jungwoo nodded slowly. “You were jealous of Yukhei? Of how close they are?”

They nodded.

“And you were all upset about this?”

“Well ...” They exchanged glances. “Yes.”

“Why?”

Jaemin squirmed. Donghyuck put a hand on his knee. “We like him. A lot.”

Jungwoo nodded slowly. “Okay, so you like him. But why did it bother you so much that Yukhei showed up?”

“Well.” Jaemin looked around for help.

Donghyuck shrugged. “I mean, they do look close. And we were all upset about it.”

“Yes, but something's ...” Renjun shook his head.

“I'm pretty sure they're dating,” Jaemin burst out. “Or something. It wasn't the only thing that got to me but ... yeah.”

“Jeno and Yukhei?” Jungwoo snorted. “No way.”

“What?”

“They're not dating.” Jungwoo leaned back against the counter. “I would bet good money that if you asked either of them that question, they'd gag.”

“How do you know that?” Jaemin leaned forward. “They're so close, so much faster than he ever got close to us. Yukhei's so touchy with him, Jeno ... he's never been like that with any of us.”

“Well of course he hasn't. Yukhei's his initiator. You know he's the one who changed Jeno, right?”

“Yes.”

“That means more than just biting him. Werewolves have rituals just as we do. The wolf who brings someone over is responsible for them until the change itself is over, which takes months. They become a support system. There's also a bit of a magical connection.”

“What kind of magical connection?”

Jungwoo shrugged. “I don't know that much, I’m not a wolf. I'm just dating one. But Doyoungie has said that he and Taeil got really close really fast when it happened. Taeil knew things about him without having to ask, was able to get to him easier, things like that. You could ask any of them, it's not a secret. That's probably why they look like they got close very quickly.”

“Oh.” Donghyuck sighed. “So they’re not dating.”

“No.” Jaemin slumped back. “But I messed up worse than I thought.”

Jungwoo pushed away from the counter. “I would give it all a day or two to settle before you try talking to him. I’ll let Doyoung know that we talked. Jeno's probably in a lot of emotional turmoil given how newly turned he is—it's like being a teenager all over again, I've heard.”

They frowned at each other.

Jungwoo backed away. “I'll let you be alone then.” He pulled out his phone as he walked away; They barely hear him talking to Doyoung. Taeyong peeked in at them and Jungwoo waved him off.

***

Jeno didn't let go of Yukhei's wrist until they were walking into the pack house. It had taken some maneuvering with the car but for the moment, it was the only thing keeping him calm. The pack descended on them as soon as they were through the door. Jeno and Yukhei hung onto each other as the older wolves manhandled them into hugs.

Eventually they eased Jeno and Yukhei onto the couch. Jeno let his head fall back onto the cushions. Surrounded by his pack, some of the panic receded, which had probably been the point of the hug.

“Are you feeling ready to talk?” Johnny asked.

Jeno whined. “I don’t know what happened. We were about to leave the cafe and he just started yelling at Yukhei. I didn’t really understand, something about stealing me? And then we were both upset so I got us out of there.” He leaned toward Yukhei. “What if he hates me now?”

“Okay, let's just breathe for a bit.” Yuta pet Jeno's head. “Jaemin yelling doesn't mean he doesn't like you anymore. It might mean the opposite.”

“You don't know that. We don't know what he was mad about, I don’t even know why he was suddenly yelling at us. It doesn’t make any sense ...”

Doyoung stepped back when his phone rang. “Sorry, that's Jugnwoo. It might be relevant.”

Jeno tried to focus on his breathing while Doyoung talked to his boyfriend.

“Okay.” Doyoung perched on the arm of the couch. “Jungwoo says they’re all back at the shop, that they're pretty upset too but that he got them calmed down as much as he could. He said Jaemin feels terrible for yelling, and he told them to give it a couple of days before you all talk so everyone can calm down. Is that okay with you?”

Jeno nodded. He had no idea, but it would be better to be safe, right? “Yeah, I think that might be good. Better to wait than start a fight, right?” He glanced at Yukhei, who nodded.

Doyoung nodded, before he patted Jeno’s head. “That's what we thought as well. Give it a few days and then contact Jaemin when you feel ready, okay? Both of you.”

“Yeah,” Yukhei nudged Jeno. “We can talk it out and everything will be good, right?”

“I mean, I'd rather not be fighting, but it won't solve the rest of the problem.”

“What's that, then?”

“I've imprinted on all three of them.” Jeno took a shaky breath and wiped at his eyes when tears escaped. He hated crying. “But I don't think they want me like that.”

The pack jumped on him again

“You don't know that.” Doyoung pulled Jeno's face toward his. “Have you asked them how they feel about you?”

“Well.” Jeno sniffed. He hadn’t exactly had time, between processing each tie. “No.”

“Then you don't know. Until they tell you, you don't know anything, okay?”

Jeno nodded. At least he had the pack to cuddle him until he felt better.

***

Jeno was cuddling up to Mark and Yukhei on the pack couch a few days later when his phone buzzed. It was Jaemin. His stomach clenched.

_Hi … I’m probably the last person you want to talk to at the moment_

_But I want to apologize. In person, not like this. Whenever you’re ready for that._

Jeno read the texts as they crossed his screen. The message lightened the tension, but he couldn’t let go of the worry.

_I don’t think I’m the one you really need to apologize to. I was more of a bystander than anything else._

He barely had to wait for a response. _I know. I thought it would be better to arrange through you. Would he be okay with that?_

Jeno set down his phone. Yukhei and Mark had put him in the middle because apparently cuddling like this made people feel better—though he still thought Yukhei was the one with the most right to be upset—but they hadn’t stopped trying to flirt over his head. It was ridiculous how obvious they were, now that he knew. He nudged Yukhie’s shoulder with his head. “Xuxi?”

“Hmm?” Yukhei finally stopped trying to make sexy faces at Mark and looked down at him. “Are you okay?”

Jeno nodded. “Jaemin texted me. He wants to know if we would be comfortable meeting him somewhere so he can apologize.”

Yukhei shrugged. “I’m good if you’re good.”

“Why are you not more upset about this?” Jeno’s gut clenched a little just thinking about the whole mess.

Yukhei smirked. “I have a feeling I know why he was upset with me. I’m not too worried about it. It’s not like he said anything that was true.”

Mark poked them both, in Jeno’s side and on Yukhei’s arm. “You know Xuxi’s not the type of person to worry about such a thing. Just worry about yourself. Are you ready to talk to him?”

Jeno took a deep breath. “I think so, yeah. I’m not really mad, I just want to know why.”

Mark pointed at the phone.

“Yes, okay, I get it.” Jeno picked it up again.

_Yukhei says yes. When do you want to meet?_

_Would tomorrow work for you? We could meet at the park; I think we’ve subjected Hyunjin and the cafe to enough of our shenanigans._

_That’s fair. 3pm?_

_Sure. I’ll see you then._

_See you._

Jeno locked his phone. It was hard to hope things would turn out fine, but maybe they could almost go back to normal. He let the pining idiots cuddle him for the rest of the afternoon. It even helped a little.

***

Jeno led the way into the park. Jaemin sat at a picnic table looking at his knees. It sent a spike through Jeno’s chest, no matter how upset he was, Jaemin should never look like that. Yukhei put his hand on the back of Jeno’s shoulder and pushed him on. They sat across from Jaemin.

“Hi.”

Jaemin glanced up. He gave each of them a small smile. “Hi.”

They tried to make small talk, but it died pretty quickly.

“So.” Jaemin straightened. “I have a lot to say, if you’re willing to let me talk first.”

“Of course, if you want to.” Jeno traced a whorl of wood in the picnic table.

“Right. So.” Jaemin turned subtly so he was facing toward Yukhei. “First, I want to apologize to you. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. It was out of line no matter what I thought was going on, and I’m so sorry that I upset you.”

“Thank you, Jaemin.” Yukhei smiled at him sweetly. That was one of Jeno’s favorite things about Yukhei; he genuinely believed in people.

Jaemin turned toward Jeno. He tried not to tense. “Jeno. I wasn’t actually yelling at you, but I did upset you, and I’m sorry for that too. It wasn't my intention, and like I said before, I know I was out of line.”

Jeno nodded slowly. “It’s okay. I think we all probably overreacted. But I don’t understand what set you off. You were clearly upset but I don’t even understand what happened.”

“This is going to sound really stupid.”

“It probably won’t,” Yukhei assured him.

Jaemin smiled at him. “Injunnie, Hyuckie, and I had the wrong idea about your relationship. We really didn’t know anything about wolf traditions, and when the two of you got close really quickly, we thought you were dating.” Jaemin shrugged. “But you hadn’t told us anything like that, so I kinda thought you were hiding something? And it just built up for a while with all of us. It felt like you,” he nodded at Yukhei, “were stealing our best friend away. Not just in the “if you’re dating” sense, but it seemed like you were suddenly the person he was talking to about everything and spending all his time with and then I just couldn’t take it anymore.”

“Oh my god, we’re not dating.”

“Yes, I know that now. Jungwoo explained some things. I promise it won’t happen again. I really am sorry.”

Yukhei shrugged. “That’s good enough for me.” He checked the time. “I don’t have much time before I’m supposed to meet someone but I could stick around for a little while longer?”

Jaemin waved a hand. “No, it’s okay if you have somewhere to be. Don’t let me keep you.”

“Someone?” Jeno repeated. “Does someone mean—?”

Yukhei clapped a hand over Jeno’s mouth. “You hush. Are you good if I get out of here?”

Jeno nodded slowly. Yukhei patted his shoulder once more before he left, taking some of Jeno’s calm with him.

He turned back to Jaemin, who was watching curiously. “So.”

“So.” Jeno fidgeted. “Did you really think I was dating Yukhei?” Knowing about Mark and Yukhei made it harder to get those words out with a straight face. “Nana, he’s like my emotional support wolf boy.”

It made Jaemin laugh, at least. He’d always liked making Jaemin laugh. “Are you seriously going to call it that?”

Jeno shrugged. “It works well enough. But seriously—you thought I was dating Yukhei? You didn’t think I would tell you something like that?” He wanted to pout, but it probably wasn’t the time.

Jaemin shrugged helplessly. “More like we thought you were into him or fooling around and didn’t want to talk about it?”

“Well, no. It’s not like that. Xuxi-hyung turned me, he’s responsible for me. There’s a connection, and we are close, but not like that. Definitely not like that.” And once again, he had to try to get the image of Mark and Yukhei out of his head. He should really ask Yangyang for help getting Mark back for that.

“I know, Jungwoo explained it.” Jaemin crossed his arms over his chest. “I didn’t really get it then? But I know it’s not a romantic thing.”

“Yeah.” Jeno shifted. How to better explain something he knew instinctively? “It’s like … we were friendly before, of course, and that’s helpful, but when he changed me, he became responsible for me in the eyes of the pack. There’s a bond, which apparently fades after the changes are completely done. It’s not that strong, it’s not like he knows where I am all the time or anything, but it’s instinctive? It’s like when Yukhei’s around, my wolf knows things are okay so he can be calm. Physical contact helps a lot. Oh, and he’s been teaching me things. I’m sorry you felt like I was hiding things from you.” Maybe he shouldn’t have said that, because he still kind of was hiding something, but he wasn’t hiding that particular thing? Would that be okay?

Jaemin waved his hands around. “No, no, it’s okay. It’s not your fault if you didn’t realize. We should have asked before making assumptions. I know it was out of line for me to get upset in the first place.”

Jeno nods. “Okay.”

They talked for a bit longer. Jeno decided to give it a few more days before contacting anyone, to let things settle. To let himself settle.

***

When Jeno entered the shop, Renjun looked up from the book he was reading. He smiled, though it looked strained to Jeno. But maybe he was overthinking it. “Hey.” He jumped down and hurried over. “How are you?”

“I’m okay.” Renjun’s scent hit him, if possible, harder than it had the first time they were alone since the imprinting. Doyoung had warned him that the pull would get stronger and stronger until he made a decision.

“I’m so sorry about before.” Renjun pulled up short in front of him.

Jeno waved him off. “It’s fine. Jaemin and I talked it out. You’re not responsible for everything your boyfriend does, Injunnie. It’s okay.” He tried to loosen the tension in his shoulders. It wasn’t like he’d ever been angry.

“Well, in that case,” Renjun glanced toward the back. “Would you mind helping test out the wolfsbane?”

“Of course, I wouldn’t mind.”

“Oh, thank you. I was getting worried that there wouldn’t be anyone around to help when it finished brewing.” Renjun went on about wolfsbane and how stupid a misnomer it was as he led Jeno toward the back. He was so cute. Renjun might hate the word, but it was true. Jeno’s chest hurt watching him. No matter how much he wanted, he couldn’t reach out. Even if he wanted to try for all three, it wouldn’t be right to do something when they were alone. And he didn’t want to mess up their relationship, even if they would consider having him.

“Jeno, hi.” Donghyuck waved from his perch at the high table. He was also painfully beautiful. “Are you here to help us out?”

Jeno nodded and took a seat. “What do I do?”

The intricate potion-testing distracted from reality enough that Jeno actually ran home with a smile.

It lasted until Taeil smiled back at him and asked what had happened. Jeno told him about the potion and his time at the shop. Taeil seemed to think it was cute; he ruffled Jeno’s hair and told him to take the witches out of the shop for a date sometime. Jeno gave him another smile before excusing himself. Jeno had made it home before most of the pack was around, so he escaped to his room after only a little small talk with Jaehyun. He closed his bedroom door gently. Today, it was lucky that his bedroom was the furthest from the stairs. If anyone heard him, they might assume that he was just doing some work.

What had he been thinking? Jeno paced. Helping the witches wasn’t anything out of the norm, but if even Taeil was talking about dates, did that mean it looked that way from the outside? Johnny and Yukhei came in so loudly Jeno couldn’t mistake them for anyone else. His wolf urged them toward the stairs, toward Yukhei’s soothing presence, but Jeno held them back. Yukhei would just tell him to talk to Renjun, Donghyuck, and Jaemin. Did he even have the right to do that? Just because his instincts drew Jeno to them, that didn’t mean he had any claim on their time. It especially didn’t mean he got to feel like he was dating them.

Why would they even want him, anyway? Jeno sat on his bed. Yes, they were three in a relationship, but that was already a lot of people to handle. Why would they look for a fourth? His wolf whined at that. Jeno curled into his bed. If anyone heard him now, they should have the courtesy to pretend they didn’t. Besides, it wasn’t like he compared to Renjun, or Donghyuck, or Jaemin. Why would three beautiful witches be interested in a new wolf who barely had his feet under him?

***

Donghyuck glanced at Jeno. He seemed calm and quiet, taking notes. Maybe, if he didn’t know Jeno, he would think that was all there was to it. But Jeno’s poker face wasn’t all there was to him. Donghyuck had known him for too long to think everything was fine.

When class let out, Donghyuck grabbed Jeno’s wrist. “Come with me.” He ignored the spark that ran up his hand from touching Jeno. That wasn’t anything new. Jeno didn’t fight as Donghyuck dragged him off. They stopped in an empty corner of the hallway.

“What is it?” Jeno adjusted his backpack once Donghyuck dropped his wrist.

“What’s wrong.”

“Nothing’s wrong, why would you think something is wrong?”

“Because I know you, and I know when you’re putting on a poker face. What is it?”

Jeno shrugged. Like that was an answer.

“Are you still upset about what happened in the cafe? Because we still feel bad about that.”

“No it’s fine, don’t feel bad. Jaemin apologized, it’s fine; No one should feel bad anymore. It’s fine. I’m _fine_.”

Donghyuck pouted. “Then what’s wrong?”

Jeno fidgeted. “I …”

A sign of weakness. He pouted harder. “What is it. Please?”

Jeno looked away. “I’ll be fine.” He dashed away before Dongyhuck could catch him. Donghyuck pouted all the way home. He couldn’t help it. Something wasn’t right, and it was eating at him.

***

Jaemin settled further into the couch while the movie credits played. Jeno absolutely refused to look at him. He had been refusing to look for most of their movie night, actually. Jaemin glanced at Donghyuck. Donghyuck nodded. He saw it, too. They kept watching as Jeno avoided even coming remotely close to them. He even left a little early, claiming business in the morning.

Jaemin shut the door slowly behind the last of their friends before he turned to his boyfriends. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

“Jeno?” Donghyuck tossed the movie back into its basket.

Jaemin nodded. “He’s been weird for a while and I can’t quite justify the idea I have.”

“Do you think he’s into one of us?” Renjun sat back on the couch. “Because that’s what I’m thinking.”

“Yes I’m thinking that.” He breathed the words into the air like something, anything, would break if he spoke louder.

Renjun set his chin on his hand. “I want it to be true so much that I’m afraid that I’m seeing things that aren’t there.”

Donghyuck came to cuddle into Renjun on the couch. “I’m seeing what both of you are seeing, I think. He won’t look at any of us, he blushes, he gets silly. I’m surprised we didn’t see it before but it must have been because we were sure he was into Yukhei.”

“That and he might not have been before,” Renjun pointed out. “We don’t know how long it’s been going on. It could be new.”

“It would explain why he’s been so weird,” Donghyuck mused. “If he’s into one of us, but doesn’t know if he’s into all of us. We’re poly, yeah, but maybe he doesn’t know how far that extends. He probably doesn’t want to mess up our friendship or this relationship,” he waved between them, “And he might feel guilty about being into one of us.”

Jaemin pondered.”But who is it?’

Donghyuck shrugged. He glanced at Renjun, who shrugged. “I don’t know. We’re all too close to tell.”

“Are we okay with him only being interested in one of us?” Donghyuck asked. “I don’t want any of us to get upset.”

Jaemin shrugged. “If he’s into one of us, we can all win him over. It’ll be okay.”

“Wow, you’re confident.”

He winked. “We’re just that amazing.” They had to know he wasn’t that confident. He climbed back on the couch for reassurance; his boyfriends cooed at him. “But really, one is better than none, right? And I don’t think he would be into one of us if he couldn’t understand or appreciate polyamory. And we’re loveable right? We can win him over. Get him dating one of us and then make him see the rest of us the way we see him.”

Renjun sat up from where they piled together. “I’m not sure dumping a four-person relationship on him is a good idea.”

“What do you mean?” Donghyuck pulled Renjun back down.

“I mean,” Renjun settled back against Donghyuck, petting at Jaemin’s hair, “we know he’s into one of us, but we don’t know who. It could be all of us or two of us or only one. Maybe he doesn’t know that he’s into us yet. I know Jeno, _we_ know Jeno, and he probably feels pretty overwhelmed already if he even likes one of us. I don’t think we should start our approach with “hey, wanna join our threesome?”“

“That’s a good point.” Jaemin shifted. “I think we should start a little slower than that.”

“Slower like approach him one on one?” Donghyuck asked.

“Yeah. We need to know who he’s into first. Let’s each of us approach him and try flirting a little. If we get a good response, we sit him down to talk. If he doesn’t freak out, then we bring him home and all four of us can talk it out. How does that sound?”

“Works for me.”

***

Renjun didn’t bother to look up when the shop’s door jingled. “Welcome, I’ll be with you in a moment.”

“Take your time.” Jeno’s voice almost made him fall out of his seat. “I’m just here to pick up Jaehyun-hyung’s cold meds.”

“Ah.” Because of course, Jeno wouldn’t come down here of his own accord anymore. Renjun slid off the stool. Well, at least Jaehyun was giving him a chance to implement the plan. “Give me just a second.” He smiled at Jeno, who seemed surprised, before heading into the back.

Donghyuck turned from his work station when Renjun came in. “What’s up?”

“Jeno’s here for Jaehyun-hyung’s meds.” Renjun reached past Donghyuck for the bottle, which brought him very close to the constellation of moles on his cheek. He kissed them before taking the bottle. “You know what that means.”

Donghyuck wriggled against him. “Time to implement the plan?”

“Mhmm.”

“I’ll come with you.” Donghyuck tried to hop up, but Renjun pushed him back into his seat.

“Nope.” Renjun kissed him in apology. “My turn. You have class with him in a few days, remember?”

Donghyuck whined, but didn’t stop Renjun from leaving. Renjun made his way back to the counter. Jeno stood where Renjun had left him, fidgeting.

“Here it is.” Renjun hopped back up without giving over the bottle. “Now, it looks like hyung paid for this dose, but I think I need a little extra from you.”

Jeno blinked at him. He made confusion look cute, when Renjun had never been fond of it. “What would you need from me?”

Renjun put on a thoughtful face, tapping his lips with a finger. That probably wouldn’t work, but maybe it would get him to look. “Hmm. Good question.” How blunt could he be? “A promise, maybe?”

“What kind of promise?”

Renjun held out the bottle, just out of Jeno’s reach. “That that you’ll come just to see me next time?”

Jeno sputtered. Renjun raised an eyebrow. “Okay, you know what? I can do that.”

“Good job, darling.” Renjun handed over the bottle.

Jeno almost ran out as soon as he secured the potion. Donghyuck poked his head out from the back. “How did it go?”

“I have no idea what to make of that.” Renjun filled him in. “He kind of blushed? Maybe? But he blushes at everything.”

Donghyuck hummed. “He does. Did he seem flustered, though?”

“I think so?”

He grinned. “I’m calling Nana.” Donghyuck disappeared. Jaemin came sprinting in as soon as his class finished, wanting to dissect it again. Renjun narrated as the other two cleaned up the front room. In the end, they agreed it wasn’t proof, but enough to keep hoping.

***

Jaemin tapped his pencil against his notebook. Jeno’s class had been supposed to end several minutes ago, but from his weak vantage point on the floor across the hall, it looked like the professor was assigning them more homework. Why did it have to be today of all days?

Finally, she let them out. Jaemin stood as the class rushed out. He waved when Jeno made it through the door. Jeno frowned, but came over. “What are you doing here?”

Jaemin cocked his head. “What wouldn’t I be doing here? Don’t we usually walk back from this class together?”

Jeno flushed a little. Success? “Well, yeah, but I thought your lab was supposed to be running long this month.”

Maybe not success. Though, him keeping track of the schedule was a good sign. Jaemin nudged Jeno with his shoulder as they started walking. “That ended last week. Do you not want to see me?”

Jeno was definitely blushing now, but he only muttered something about being confused. Jaemin made sure to keep close as they wove through the crowd. Jeno startled a little when their sides brushed, but after the first time it didn’t seem to bother him. Jaemin held the door for Jeno. “Why did your class run long?” He gave his most winning smile as Jeno came through the door. Again, Jeno flushed a little but didn’t really respond.

“The professor wanted to talk more about our final assignments. Nothing we hadn’t already been told, but apparently some people don’t know how to read the syllabus and wouldn’t stop emailing her over the weekend.” Jeno rolled his eyes.

“That’s too bad. What do you need to do that’s so complicated? Or are they all just being silly?”

Jeno seemed happy to explain in great detail. Jaemin was happy to let him, as they headed for the parking lot. Like Renjun had said, there were clues, but nothing sure enough to move ahead. Maybe Donghyuck would have more luck.

***

Finally, Jeno had class with Donghyuck again. While the professor droned on, he set his hand on Jeno’s knee. Jeno almost lost his grip on the pen. Donghyuck smiled

“What?” Jeno whispered. “We’re in the middle of class.”

“What? _What_? Did I do something?” Donghyuck made his eyes very wide. It would have looked silly, but Jeno had seen him do that for dramatic effect over and over again—to his boyfriends. What was he doing?

Donghyuck leaned over until his head rested on Jeno’s shoulder. “Is this okay?” he whispered.

Jeno just nodded.

Donghyuck nuzzled closer until his forehead met Jeno’s neck. Jeno blushed; his face probably looked like a tomato. What was going on?

Finally, the professor dismissed them, and like that day weeks ago, Donghyuck pulled Jeno away before he could say anything. Jeno could have run away; Donghyuck hadn’t been stronger than him as a human, he definitely wasn’t stronger now, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He followed Donghyuck down the hall to the quiet emptier place they had found the last time.

Donghyuck pulled Jeno around until Jeno’s back was to the wall, with Donghyuck in front of him.

“What is going on, Hyuck?”

Donghyuck smiled up at him. “I want to know. You seemed off in class. Was that okay? Did I upset you?”

“I—no, you didn’t upset me, Hyuck. Why would you think that?”

“Well I don’t know.” Donghyuck edged a little closer. “You got pretty red, but I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. I want to make sure that I know what’s going on because I wouldn’t want to cross a wrong boundary?”

“What’s going on, Donghyuck?”

Donghyuck cocked his head. “Is this okay?” he leaned closer.

He didn’t know who moved first. All he knew was that kissing Donghyuck was the best feeling in the world. There probably had been better things, but as his wolf howled within, it drowned out any other memories.

Oh shit. What was he doing? He was kissing Donghyuck. When Jeno jerked back, Donghyuck’s eyes remained closed. What had he done?

“I’m sorry.” He slid away from the wall and ran. Donghyuck called after him. He didn’t stop. He couldn’t stop. He’d ruined everything.

***

Donghyuck didn’t move from the spot where he had kissed Jeno even after Jeno had disappeared. What had happened? Maybe kissing him had been a bad idea … but it had been a really nice kiss. That hadn’t exactly gone according to plan. Donghyuck texted his boyfriends a warning and hurried home.

“What happened?” Jaemin asked when he was safely home.

Donghyuck nuzzled into their arms. “I was flirting with Jeno and he started blushing and fidgeting. That seemed like a good sign but I wanted to be sure so I kept going after class and … well, we kissed, but he ran away before I could talk to him. That’s probably a bad sign, right?”

“Hmmm.” Renjun frowned. “Probably, but we can’t know for sure. Maybe we should just all talk to him.”

“You think he’ll be upset?” Jaemin asked.

Renjun shrugged. “I think he ran away. It’s probably not a good thing.”

Donghyuck whined. “I shouldn’t have kissed him. I should have just talked to him. Damn it. What if I’ve ruined everything?”

“You haven’t ruined anything.” Jaemin hugged Donghyuck. “If my yelling at him and Yukhei didn’t ruin everything, one kiss won’t either.”

Renjun laughed. “That’s true. We should probably go though.”

***

The trip to the pack house felt faster and slower than it ever had. Walking in on Mark and Yukhei in each other’s laps was not the sight Donghyuck expected, however. The two sprang apart as soon as Donghyuck let out a choked noise.

“Oh my god, why does this keep happening?” Mark hurried to fix his clothes.

“Keep happening?” Donghyuck resisted the urge to gag until he could force out the rest of his words. “How often do you make out with people in public places to get caught, Mark?”

Mark rolled his eyes and focused on fixing his hair in lieu of answering.

“Where’s Jeno?” Renjun stepped around until he was in front of Yukhei. “We need to talk to him.”

Yukhei pursed his lips. “I don’t think he’d want me to tell you that.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s not here. He came by pretty upset and then left. I think he wants to be alone right now and I don’t think he would want me to tell anyone where he is.”

“But he’s upset because he doesn’t know everything.” Jaemin came up behind Renjun. “He misunderstood and ran away. We can fix it if we just know where he is.”

Mark narrowed his eyes at them. “What happened?”

“I kissed him after class and I think he took it wrong. We wanted to talk to him but he ran off.” He fidgeted under Mark’s gaze. Ever since they hit puberty and Mark’s wolf came out to play for real, he’d had a stronger gaze. Usually it didn’t deter Donghyuck, but he was too worried about Jeno right now.

Mark looked over at Yukhei. “I think they’re right.”

Yukhei frowned. “Are you sure he’s not just going to get more upset?”

Mark shrugged. “Is it really our place to get in the middle?”

Yukehi sighed and waved a hand.

“Yukhei hinted at it earlier,” Mark told them. “When he said Jeno wanted to be alone. He went to his cave.”

Donghyuck hugged Mark quickly. “Thank you, hyung.”

Mark waved him off. “Just go fix your mess, please.”

They rushed out of the house. Donghyuck barely eked out a lead on his boyfriends, but he needed to find Jeno, needed to explain.

***

Jeno curled into a ball on the moss. He’d really done it now. What had happened to his resolve to not do anything to mess up their friendship? Donghyuck had probably been teasing him, and he had to go and mess it up by kissing the boy. He had three boyfriends! He didn’t need anyone else kissing him!

Oh god, was that cheating? Jeno curled tighter. Had he made Donghyuck cheat on his boyfriends without meaning to? That would really ruin everything. Good going, Jeno. His wolf sulked,. Jeno didn’t know what to tell the poor guy. It wasn’t his fault he had chosen three unattainable people for Jeno.

The three unattainable people peeked around the edge of the little cave. What? Jeno blinked. They were still there, and coming closer. Jeno sat up. The stone of the cave floor was cold against his pants. “I’m so—”

Renjun slapped a hand over Jeno’s mouth. Why did everyone keep doing that to him? “Shut up and let us talk, okay? We’re not mad. We promise.”

Jeno nodded slowly. Renjun took his hand off Jeno’s mouth. The three took seats so the four of them sat in a circle.

Donghyuck fidgeted, playing with his hands. “First, I wanted to apologize for how that happened. I shouldn’t have gone further after class when I was meant to talk to you. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Jeno cocked his head. “What _do_ you mean?”

Donghyuck shrugged. “I really wasn’t sure that I was seeing what I thought I was seeing and I wanted to make sure before I started talking about something that I couldn’t take back. But that happened anyway, kind of. I should have read the room better. I’m sorry.”

“But why are you apologizing? What’s going on?”

“Okay.” Jaemin stilled Donghyuck with a hand on his knee. “We like you.”

“What?”

“ _We_ ,” Jaemin waved at himself and his boyfriends, “the three of us, we like you. Romantically. We noticed recently that you were probably into at least one of us, so we hoped we could talk you around, but we didn’t know who it was. So we decided to figure that out first? Because we didn’t want to overwhelm you with the conversation we’re trying to have now.” Jaemin shrugged. “It didn’t work out the way we planned.”

“Which is why I’m apologizing,” Donghyuck added.

“You—what? You like me?”

They all nodded.

“What? How? When? What? Wait.”

Renjun laughed. “Are you really that surprised, Jen? You’re very likable.”

He blushed. “I mean, I don’t know about that. I just thought, you already have each other, why would you be interested in someone else.”

“That’s what poly’s about, silly,” Jaemin leaned way over so he could flick Jeno’s knee. “Not limiting our love. If it hadn’t happened that would have been fine, but it did and that’s good too.”

Jeno stuck his tongue out at Jaemin. “Well how was I supposed to know that?”

“You weren’t, I suppose.” Renjun swayed a little in thought. “We weren’t going to tell you that we were interested in you, because it was part of how we got together in the first place—recognizing that we all had these feelings we thought were unreciprocated.”

“We never thought you were interested in any of us,” Donghyuck added. “And then we thought you and Yukhei had a thing, remember?”

Jeno made a face.

Donghyuck smirked. “Yeah. But after we cleared that up, we figured out that you might be into one of us and we didn’t want to scare you off by coming on too strongly too quickly.”

He had no words for this.

“So it’s Hyuckie, right?” Jaemin leaned in with a smirk.

“What?”

“The one you like. You kissed Donghyuck. That means he’s the one you like, right?”

“Oh. Uh.” How could he even say this nicely? Was there a nice way to say it? Well, what did it matter? It wasn’t like this had all gone well in the first place. Jeno picked at some moss.

“Well, what?” They all leaned closer, faces much too close for comfort.

Jeno fidgeted. “It’s not just Donghyuck.”

“What?”

He tried to fight off a blush. He’d been doing way too much of that recently. “I like all three of you.” He kept his gaze firmly on his fingers as he elaborated. “I just didn’t realize or didn’t want to realize that you were all flirting with me before. Donghyuck happened to catch me on this particular day, but it could have been any of you, really.”

“What?” Jaemin looked a little shell-shocked when Jeno dared to look up. “You mean…”

“Yes, he does mean.” Renjun also looked a little shaken, but still in control enough to reach out and close Jaemin’s mouth for him.

Donghyuck smiled. “You like all three of us? _Really_?”

Jeno nodded. “Is it that surprising? Why are they like that?” He nodded at the other two.

Donghyuck shrugged. “We didn’t think you were that into us yet. We’d only barely figured out you might be attracted to one of us. We thought we were going to have to win you over. It’s a good thing!” he reached over to pat Jeno’s hand. “Just surprising.”

“Oh.”

Renjun nudged him when they had calmed down. “Can I ask what changed? I know you weren’t into us all this entire time. At least not openly.”

“Oh, yeah. Um. How do I explain this?” Jeno frowned. Why was this of all things embarrassing? “How much do you know about wolf imprinting?”

They shrugged at him.

“It’s basically the way wolves choose their mates. It’s not, like, legally binding or anything, but when a wolf decides they’ve found the right person they imprint on them. It’s like a pre-tie? I guess? Yukhei says it can happen the second you meet that person, or months later. I don’t quite get the logistics of it yet.”

“So you imprinted on one of us?” Jaemin cocked his head.

Jeno shook his head. “I imprinted on all _three_ of you. At the same time. Do you remember that day we were at the cafe and I had to leave early because of an emergency pack meeting?”

“Yeah—wait, was that …”

Jeno nodded. “The pack meeting was because of me. I’ve only been a wolf for three months, and the imprinting and other magic ties didn’t come in until right then. I didn’t understand it and I kind of freaked out so I told Yukhei and he called the pack to help figure things out.”

“Is that what made you like us?” Donghyuck asked. There was an edge to his tone Jeno didn’t like.

Jeno shook his head quickly. “No. It’s more like it made me notice things I hadn’t been letting myself see. So it took a little while longer to figure out, but only a little for me to realize that I had liked all of you for a while.”

Jeno ducked his head at the smiles he received.

Renjun lifted Jeno’s head with cool fingers on his chin. He smiled. “As nice as that is to hear, I’d rather have the conversation we need to have somewhere a little more comfortable.”

Jeno laughed. “Do you want to go back to your place?”

Renjun and Donghyuck pulled Jeno up. Jaemin waited until they had all passed and latched onto Jeno’s back. They hadn’t talked it all out yet, but walking out of the forest cave squished between the three boys he loved, Jeno thought it might all be okay.

***

The car ride made Jeno antsy, but he wasn’t the only one. When they finally arrived, they piled out of the car and into the coven’s home in a rush. Jeno was pushed into the nearest armchair while the other three took spots around the room, Jaemin in another armchair, Renjun on the couch, Donghyuck on a stool they’d borrowed from the store. It had been nice to be so close, with his wolf almost purring for all that canines couldn’t purr, but he was kind of relieved to sit alone, that they were equidistant. It felt a little more equal that way. Jeno stuck his hands between his knees.

“So how do we start?” Jeno looked around. “What exactly are we talking about?”

“What we want.” Jaemin propped his elbows on his knees.. “We said we like you, you said you like us. But what do we want to do about that?” he waved at his boyfriends. “We all had to talk it out when we first got together, it’s not going to be any different now.”

Jeno nodded slowly. Odd, how that felt comforting. “Well, what did you talk about the first time?”

Jaemin shrugged. “How things work.”

“Oh, you’re no help.” Renjun pulled himself around to face the others more easily. “What do you want? That’s the real question. When the three of us,” he waved, “started things, it was more of a “should we try all three going on a date?” and then had another conversation later to work out where we stood. And of course, communication is always important. Do you want us to court you? I think you’d deserve it, after all the confusion we’ve all been through. Do you want to do what we did and go on a couple of dates to see if you like it? Do you want to be our boyfriend now?”

Oh. _Oh_ , that was a lot. Jeno took a breath. His wolf vibrated with contentment, so it really was left up to him. “I think … if you look at it one way, the times we’ve all hung out together could have been considered dates. Not that we were calling them dates at the time, but still. I think we can still go on dates if I’m your boyfriend.”

“Is that you asking?” Donghyuck perked up. He’d been quiet since they left; Jeno wasn’t sure if that was because he was happy at the outcome or worn out from all the running around they had done. “Do you want to be our boyfriend?”

“I think you just asked me,” Jeno grinned at him. “Yes, I would like that.”

They dogpiled him almost better than his pack. Jeno was dragged from the chair into the best four-person hug. This time Jaemin squeezed into the end of the couch, pulling Jeno down with him. Donghyuck sat on his other side. Renjun dropped into the remaining space and swung his legs into the others’ laps.

“So how does this all work?”

Donghyuck took Jeno’s hand in his. “Well, on the one hand, it’s a lot like any other relationship. We go on dates, we talk, we cuddle, we like each other, etc. It’s just that there’s a lot more communication involved.”

“Yeah.” Jaemin poked Jeno’s side. “That means if something’s bothering you, you should tell us. That’s the easiest way to cause a misunderstanding, and in a relationship with four people, a misunderstanding can blow up badly.”

“You’d know,” Renjun joked. Jaemin pouted until Jeno rested his head on Jaemin’s shoulder.

“Sometimes we go on dates or do things just between two of us.” Renjun leaned his head on Donghyuck’s shoulder. “Sometimes two of us want to have some time together specifically, or someone wants to be alone. That’s fine, it doesn’t mean that any one person is more or less special. But it’s important to communicate that because otherwise someone could get their feelings hurt.”

“Like, if I want to go see a horror movie for a date, we all know I’d only take Nana? That counts?”

They laughed. “Exactly.”

They drifted in comfortable silence until Jaemin started pouting. Jeno laughed. “What?”

“Donghyuck got kisses.” Jaemin pouted harder. “I want my turn.”

“Oh.” Jeno blushed, but leaned up to kiss Jaemin anyway. His wolf howled again, but this time no guilt followed, just sweetness. Jeno pulled back when he heard Donghyuck laughing. Renjun was climbing over Dongyhuck’s lap until he hovered face to face with Jeno.

“My turn.” And then they were kissing. Donghyuck demanded a turn when Renjun finished, and the afternoon descended into a paradise of kisses and laughter. Jeno was home.

***

Jeno lounged on the pack couch with his boyfriends while the pack’s next shock hit in the form of Mark and Yukhei walking into the pack house holding hands. The pack collectively lost its shit, jumping around and yelling excitedly while Jeno, Renjun, Donghyuck, and Jaemin cackled.

“Okay, okay.” Taeil started nudging people around. “Everyone sit down so our boys can give us some information.” Once everyone had resumed their proper positions, he waved Mark and Yukhei into a seat. They ended up cuddling together. The pack cooed.

“So when did this happen?”

“Yeah, when did you progress to handholding from making out in the living room?” Jeno asked from under his boyfriends.

Mark flipped him off. “Thanks, Jeno.”

Jeno just grinned. They deserved it for making him see things no one should have to see.

“Well, he’s not wrong.” Yukhei played with Mark’s fingers. “We were interested in each other for a while, and we started fooling around a little, but when we didn’t imprint on each other we thought maybe it wasn’t going to happen?”

“Yeah, so we weren’t sure where to go from there.” Mark poked Yukhei’s cheek. “So we just kept doing what we were doing. But then a few days ago, we kind of gave up on the idea of it happening.”

Yukhei grinned. “Guess what happened.”

“You turned into a bear instead of a wolf?” Donghyuck grinned when the room stared at him. “What? He said to guess.”

Mark rolled his eyes. “We imprinted. So yeah, we’re dating now. Thank you for the interrogation.”

Donghyuck was the first to pull off Jeno to lead the group hug that descended on the two. Jeno wasn’t far behind.

***

Jeno balanced four drinks as he made his way through the party Taeil was throwing for his pack and the witches. The one disadvantage to having as many boyfriends as he did, in his opinion, were the occasional logistics of fitting four drinks into two hands. He slid past Mark and Yukhei, who were taking full advantage of their revealed relationship and the light alcohol being served, to get back to Donghyuck, Jaemin, and Renjun.

He passed the drinks around before dropping back into his seat. The coven had brought a circular seat so they could all sit close together. Jeno liked it. Jaemin slid over to cling to him and Renjun did as well, despite not usually being a fan of initiating pda. Dongyhuck wriggled until he was sprawled over all of them.

Jeno’s wolf felt like it was rolling in contentment. He scooted closer to his future mates. Now all he had to do was figure out how to ask the big question.

**Author's Note:**

> This was so much fun to write uwu. Some side requests from my prompter:  
> -"pls include any other members or sm artists that you feel like !!! none are a must but preferably chensung, markhei, and kunten and bonus points for any red velvet friends (best friends yeri + 00 line? god tier)"  
> -"id rly preferably like rj, dh, jm, and cl to be witches and js and mark to be werewolves too but it isn’t required !! if you include anyone else do what spn creature you feel is best !!"  
> ... which spawned into much more in my head that unfortunately didn't quite make it onto the page in full. I'd really like to write companions to this for some of the side ships.


End file.
